Bolster spring unit



D. F. SPROUL BOLSTER SPRING UNIT prowl "fizz/auton- Filed Jan. 14, 1957 June 2 s, 1938.

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Patented June 28, 1938 BOLSTER SPRING UNIT Donald F. Sproul, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Cardwell-Westinghouse Companyz'a corporation of Delaware Application January 14, 1937, Serial No. 120,564

9 Claims;

This invention relates to cushioning devices :and more particularly .to spring units for use in supporting railway bolsters and the like. v

One of the objects of the invention'is the provision of a new and improved spring unit having .novel meansfor preventingharmonic action of the 'unit and of the assembly within which 'itis 7 used; g

Another object of the'invention is the use of a new and improved arrangement of the spring.

elements of a spring unit whereby greater capacity and efiiciency is obtained for said unit.

A further object of the invention is the pro-' vision of a spring unit having a new and improved spring element together witha novel arrangement of the elements for providing a resilient support for railway bolsters and the like.

- Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved spring unit thatis simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easily and readily assembled, and thatis eificient in operation.

gQther-and further objects of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:--.

. ,Fig. 1 is aside elevation of a railway truck,"

:parts being omitted-and parts broken away for hesake of clearness, showing the invention in position therein;

2-15 a-verticalsection of the spring unit showing the same in expanded position;

. Fig. 3 is a similar view but showing the unit compressed, and with parts broken away;

Fig. 4 is a sectionon the line 44 of Fig. 2; 1 Fig.5 is a perspective view of the friction ele- .-ment; and' V 1 Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a modified form of the friction elements.

In-the operation ofconventional railway cars, {under certain conditions, the bolster supporting spring assembly will develop a harmonious spring action unless means-be provided for preventing such action. I

- The present invention seeks to provide a spring unit which may be substituted for one or more of the conventional bolster supporting springs andwhich will not only provide a" maximum load supporting unit without increasing the size of the same,- and .at the same time provide means for preventing harmonic action of the springv as semblyn W I teferring now to the drawing, the reference character. l0 designates a railway truck having a desire??? 'pvidedw ihe. bo te penin i 2 in which is slidably mounted the end of a car bolster iii. The bolster I3 is adapted to be supported by a springassembly which is indicated generally by the reference character l4 and com prises one or. more helical springs l5 and one or more spring units l6, which engage beneath the bolster and are seated on a spring plank Ilcarried by the side frame I l, as is usual in such con-.

st'ructions. Since the detailsfof the construction of the side frame, bolster and spring plank constitute no part of the present invention; it is not thought necessary to further illustrate or describe the same.

The unit. l6 comprises a followeror casing l8 having a closed lower end l9 provided with'a central depression as at 2|. The central depression is provided with an opening 22 through which a bolt 23 extends. Mounted within the casing and extending above the same is a spring mechanism 24' which comprises a plurality of disk members of resilient materiall For convenience of description, these disk members will be considered as comprising a plurality of sets' of resilient disks'25 and 26. Each disk is provided with an axial opening 21 and each tapers in thickness from its periphery to said "opening whereby the disks may be regarded as being concave on both sides. This arrangement will not only hold the central portion of the disks in spaced relation when the parts are assembled but will materially strengthen the peripheral edge of the disks against rupture or breakage during r the compression of the unity Where the peripheries of the disks are thin, especially if they be ;conoave, and of the same thickness throughout, the radial expansion of the disk when pressure is applied tending to flatten the same, would tend to tearor disrupt the metal. But by-making the peripheries of the disks thick and tapering them toward the center, this tendency is compensated for in the added thickness of the periphery as well as in the shape of the disk. I Y

The inner portions of the disks 25 and 26, that is, the margins of the openings 21' of each set I 20 of disks engage rabbbets 28' and 29, respectively in an annular spacer member 3]. The

length of this annular member is such thatrit will normally hold the peripheral edges of the disks 25 and 26 in spaced relation as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The openings through the disks and the inner diameter of the spacermembers 3| are of such dimensions that the latter will loosely fit over the depression 2 as shown in Fig. 2.

g A suitable follower or cap 32.. provided with a flange 30 and having a depressed hollow central portion 33 of substantially the same diameter as the depression 2! in the casing I8, is provided at the upper end of the unit. The depression 33 is provided with an axial opening 34 through which the bolt 23 extends. The bolt is provided with a nut 35 by means of which the initial compression of the spring mechanism may be adjusted.

Preferably, though not necessarily, an extra resilient disk 36 may be provided at the upper end of the unit for engaging the cap 32. The inner edge of this disk engages a rabbet in the spacer member 31 inserted between the inner portion of the disk and the cap 32. The disk 36 is a duplicate of the disk 25 or 26.

Suitable means are provided for creating friction when the unit is compressed in order to prevent harmonic action of the spring mechanism. In the form of the device selected to illustrate 'one embodiment of the invention, this is accomplished by providing an annular friction shoe or friction shoes which are adapted to be forced into engagement with the inner periphery of the easing l8 when the unit is compressed. In the form of the device shown in Figi 5, the friction shoe 3!! is in the form'of a ring or ring-member having a diagonal split as at 39 and having on its upper and lower edges, inclined or wedging faces 4| and 42, respectively. These wedging faces converge inwardly and are adapted to engage corresponding inclined or wedging faces 43 and 44 of the disks 26 and 25 of adjacent sets of spring members as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. As shown on the drawing, two of these annular friction shoes are used but it is understood that additional or a less number of shoes may be employed if desired.

When the parts are assembled, the spring mechanism is clamped between the followers l8 and 32 with the lowermost disk 26 resting on the bottom wall l9 of the follower or casing l8 and with the uppermost disk 36 slightly spaced from the flange 30 of the upper follower 32.

In the operation of the device, when the cap 32 is forced downwardly, it will force the spacer ring 31 downwardly thus tending to distort the central portion of the disk 36 downwardly due to the resistance offered'by the peripheral engagement of the disk 36 with the uppermost disk 25. This force in turn will be communicated downward through the spacer blocks 3|, disks 25 and 26 and wedges 38, whereby all of the disks will be more or less distorted, as shown in Fig. 3 which shows the unit closed. The'fiange 30 of the follower 32 will engage the upper end of the follower 18 to limit the compression of the unit.

The compression of the unit will tend to force the annular friction shoe or shoes 38 outwardly into frictional contact with the inner surface of the follower casing l8 thereby not only materially assisting in supporting the load but at the same time resisting excessive movement of the load and preventing harmonic action of the unit. Upon release, the distorted disks 'will tend to resume their normal position, thereby forcing the cap member 32 upwardly.

Instead of providing the annular friction shoe 38 with a single split as at '39, it may be provided with a plurality of splits as at 46, 41 and 48, as shown in Fig. 6. In other words, instead of having a single shoe, a plurality of shoes may be employed. By arranging the splits 39, 46, 41

and 48 diagonally across the shoe or shoes, thewear on the inner surface of the casing'will be more nearly equalized or distributed around and along the casing.

It is thought from the foregoing taken in connection with the accompanying drawing that the construction and operation of my device will be apparent to those skilled in the art and that changes in size, shape, proportion and details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:- 7

1. In a spring unit, a pair of followers, a plurality of resilient. disk members between said followers, certain of said members being arranged in pairs, and means having a wedging engagement with the peripheral portion of certain of said resilient disk members for frictionally engaging the interior of one of said followers when said unit is. compressed.

2. In a spring unit, a' plurality of disk members arranged in axial alinement, said disks having axially alined openings, a plurality of annular members, each having an annular rabbet' about each end for receiving the inner edges of adjacent disk members, a follower cap engaging the end disk members of each unit, certain of said diskmembers having wedging frictional faces, ring members having wedging frictional faces engaging the wedging frictional faces of said disk members, and means for limiting the expansion casing, said disks each having an axial opening, 3 i

a plurality of spacer members between the inner portions of each pair of disks, an annular friction member between adjacent disks of two of said sets and engaging the inner wall of' said casing, said friction member and engaging disks being provided with cooperating wedging faces whereby when said unit is compressed, said friction member will be forced radially outwardly into frictional contact with the inner wall of said casing.

4. In a spring unit, a column of horizontally arranged resilient disks, a cap member'at each end of 'said column, means including spacers for holding the inner surfaces of said disks in-spaced relation and with the peripheries of certain of said disks in contact whereby a load'onthe' top a cap member will tend to distort all of said disks, a casing, and means including members cooperating with said disks for frictionally engaging said casing for resisting the compression of said unit.

5. In a spring unit foruse in railways cars and the like, a column of disk members, each of said members having a thickened peripheral edge, and spacer members inserted-between thecentral portions of certain. of said disks, means including split rings surrounding certain of said disks and having wedging faces cooperating with the peripheral portions of said disks'for expanding said rings upon the compression of said unit, and

means for frictionally'engaging said rings when 7 distorted, certain of said members being spaced apart at their outer edges, shoeshaving wedging faces engaging said edges, and a casing frictionallyengaged by said shoes when said unit is compressed.

7.'In a spring unit for use in a railway car, a plurality of resilient members having thickened outer portions, certain of said members being arranged in pairs, spacers'between the members of each pair, a tubular member encircling said column, a friction shoejand means for-forcing said shoe into frictional contact with said tubular bers arranged in a column, a cap at one end, an

open ended casing surrounding said resilient members, said members having thickened outer portions, certain of said members having wedge faces on their outer portions, wedge shoes engaging said wedge surfaces, and means for spacing the central portion of certain of said resilient members apart, whereby when said unit is comengagement with the walls of said casing.

9. In a resilient unit for use in supporting the body of railway cars and the like, a casing, a column of resilient disk members, within said casing, and friction members having wedging faces engaging wedging faces on said resilient members for forcing said friction members into engagement with the casing.

' DONALD F. SPROUL.

pressed, said shoes will be forced into'fricti'onal' 

